Norristown's interim municipal administrator takes the reins March 1

Norristown Public Works Director Robert Glisson stands outside of Norristown Municipal Hall Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013. Glisson has been appointed as the interim municipal manager starting March 1. He will replace David Forrest, who has accepted a position in Canandaigua, N.Y. Photo by Gene Walsh /Times Herald Staff.

NORRISTOWN ­­— Robert Glisson, the recently named interim municipal administrator, speaks carefully and makes sure he is understood by his listener.

The current director of public works will take over the top management job at Norristown Municipal Hall on March 1 after David Forrest leaves to become city manager of Canandaigua, N.Y.

Glisson expects the interim job to last three to four months while council finds a permanent replacement with the help of the Lafayette College Robert B. and Helen S. Meyner Center for the Study of State and Local Government. Even though the job description has not been advertised yet, Glisson is unsure whether he will apply for the permanent job.

“I have been happy as the public works director. There is a lot here that would interest me,” Glisson said. “I’m not ruling it out.”

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He was hired by council in June 2011 as public works director for $75,000 per year. As interim municipal administrator, he will be paid $109,000 per year.

Glisson has more than 10 years’ experience as a municipal manager. He served as the borough manager in Oxford, Chester County, from September 1998 to September 2003; township manager of East Caln Township, Chester County, from September 2003 to May 2007; interim manager of Wallace, Chester County, from October 2007 to December 2007 and township manager of East Cocalico, Lancaster County, from December 2008 to January 2010.

He is optimistic about the interim administrator’s job that he will begin on March 1.

“I want to provide the best counsel to the elected officials and help the staff. We work very well together,” Glisson said. “Dave was very well-respected and liked by the staff, and I want to continue in that regard. I have a very good relationship with everyone.”

Glisson is proud of the way he has operated the public works department in the past 20 months.

“We made some improvements in how we handle our road program. We used online bidding in 2012, and we got four bids when we had two in the previous round,” he said. “We’re buying a higher performance cold patch road mix that is supposed to be permanent. We hope to gain savings with this.”

As public works director, Glisson has asked the equipment operators for their opinion about equipment before making purchases. The municipality was able to purchase a low-mileage four-door pickup truck for about $16,000 through the state purchase program when the list price was $22,000. It replaced a 15-year-old pickup truck.

“We’re trying to be frugal with the dollars. This year we did not have to have a tax increase,” he said. “All the departments were good stewards of the budget.”

Glisson grew up in Downingtown, Chester County, and graduated from Downingtown High School. He earned a political science degree at Ursinus College and a master’s degree in public administration at Golden Gate University in San Francisco, Calif. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps for more than eight years and had direct management of several facilities.

Glisson and his wife, Mary, have lived in Oxford, Chester County, for nearly 11 years. The couple have two children, Matthew, 28, a captain in the Marine Corps, and Catherine Clauhs, 26, and one grandchild.

Glisson met with Forrest Friday afternoon for the first of several briefings this month on municipal issues. The economic development of Norristown will be a priority for him, Glisson said.

“There are the major projects, the Kennedy Kenrick Senior Living project on Johnson Highway and the Westrum, 149-unit apartment building on Sandy Street,” he said. “There are some smaller projects where developers have expressed interest. We’re hoping to have 770 Sandy Street in our rear view mirror this year.”

He will also be working on negotiating the municipal laborer’s contract, which expired Dec. 31, 2012. The two-year AFSCME contract was approved by council in January.

Glisson is encouraged about the future progress of Norristown.

“Council is committed to the continued economic growth in the municipality,” he said. “They are willing to listen to different development proposals and that is important.

“There is a positive dynamics at play here. The Markley Street reconstruction will make it look so much nicer, along with the Lafayette Street project which will start this year,” he said. “You can see some positive things coming down the line. There is a way forward to continue the growth in Norristown and to increase the prosperity here.”